Billie jean king gay

For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. King said the bottom line is that she wants the LGBTQ community "to be safe" and "have the same opportunities as anybody else. Search Search. Skip to Content. Profile My News Sign Out.

Sign In Create your free profile. To that end, the tennis legend created the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to help create a more inclusive workplace that will ensure equal pay and encourage self-expression. This is important to me to tell the truth.

The trailblazer added she supports the different ways LGBTQ teens are expressing themselves and their identities. Latest Stories U. By Sierra C. Billie Jean King stands on the court during a match at Wimbledon in England.

While she noted the difference between her own experience and the experience of many LGBTQ people today, who are coming out in a more progressive society, King said she does not want others to go through what she did.

On May 1,Billie Jean King, driven by circumstances, became the first prominent professional female athlete to publicly come out about her homosexuality. IE 11 is not supported. Her former secretary filed a palimony case against King, claiming she had an affair for several years with the former world No 1 and winner of 12 Grand Slam singles tournaments.

I don't care. Sierra C. Tennis legend Billie Jean King, who is played by Emma Stone in the new movie "Battle of the Sexes," talks about the film, LGBTQ rights and being outed.

How Billie Jean King : Billie Jean King and her former doubles partner Ilana Kloss have been "life partners" for over four decades

Sections U. Follow NBC News. When the news broke, she said her lawyer and her press representative urged her not to admit the truth, but King refused to deny her identity as a lesbian. King sent a heartfelt message to LGBTQ youth who are still grappling with their sexual and gender identities.

For example, she said she admires that they've adopted the word "queer," which was at one time used solely as a derogatory term. NBC News Logo. When asked, in retrospect, if she would do anything differently, King said, "I'd come out earlier.

Tennis star Billie Jean King reveals how she was outed by her secret lover and shunned by the world, in her new autobiography. Getty Images When the news broke, she said her lawyer and her press representative urged her not to admit the truth, but King refused to deny her identity as a lesbian.